New Beginnings
by The Dark Enchantress Ruhi
Summary: Gabrielle Delacour and Anthea Jones-Price meet at Gare d'Austerlitz on their way to their first year in Beauxbatons Academy. Part 7 of Harry Potter One Shots Series.


**Written for The International Wizarding School Championship**

 **Round 1 : Wizarding Schools Around The World (Bonus Round)**

 **Theme : Beauxbatons**

 **Word Count : 1996**

 **School : Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardary**

 **Year : Year 3**

 **Prompt : [Main] 2) First Day of School/Term (Event),**

 **[Additional] "Actually, I think you will find that _ is greatest magical school in the word!" she/she exclaimed. [Dialogue] - insert the school of your choice here.**

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 **A/N: There are terms that might be confusing, so please refer the an at the bottom.**

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Anthea Jones-Price was now becoming increasingly aware of the mistake her excited eleven year old self had made when she had declined _professeur Moreau's_ generous offer to accompany her family and her to the railway station from where she was to board the Beauxbatons Express on August the 31st. Her parents, Basil Jones and Adrian Price were wizards after all, they should've had no problem sending her off from platform 26 of _Gare d'Austerlitz_ , except they had all rather unfortunately forgotten one tiny detail–neither of her fathers had been to Beauxbatons, and so didn't know where the entryway to platform 26 was.

Her parents and her older brother had all done their schooling from Hogwarts. Until a year ago, she herself had thought she'd be following their steps to Hogwarts. That is, of course, until the war started. She knew for a fact that her fathers were considering moving if it came to it. Daddy was, after all, a muggleborn, and it would only have been so long before he would have been discovered under his charade of being a half-blood. But then May the 2nd came and Hogwarts was destroyed in the battle. The Battle. Her Brother had fought in the battle, and they'd only come to know the next morning when he had come in bruised and covered in bandages and bearing news of the wizarding worlds' victory.

She supposed it was a good thing that she had been enrolled in Beauxbatons the previous year, but she had somehow never thought it would come to it. Somewhere inside she wanted to stay back in England while Hogwarts was being repaired and wait to go to her parents' alma mater. Beauxbatons was completely alien. She knew nothing about that school–she didn't even know how to get to the station! Not for the first time that day, she looked towards her fathers uncertainly.

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Gabrielle Delacour had dreamt of the day she would start her schooling and follow her sister inside the Beauxbatons Express and step into the old _Palais de la magie_ as a student, but never, even in her wildest dreams had she thought her schooling would begin amidst a war. Fleur hadn't been able to come to see her off that day because travelling out of Britain had become near impossible under the dictatorial rule of Voldemort, and Gabrielle had been _worried._ She had been young, but she had known of the Weasleys' position in the war. She remembered wondering if she would ever be able to meet her sister again. Her first day in school had not been as happy as she had thought, because a feeling of foreboding had settled into her stomach that morning.

Her anxiety had finally reached culmination in December, when her parents had come to school looking _effrayé_ to take her away just before Christmas break. They had gone into hiding with the rest of the Weasleys' in Britain for two months. She'd only been able to see Fleur on the morning of May the 2nd, when word had come of the battle, and she'd hugged them all and told the she was going to fight. She was left, not for the first time, to wonder if she'd see her sister again. She remembered she hadn't left Fleur's side the entire summer after that. She was doing her first year again on her parents' insistence, and Gabrielle really couldn't complain. She'd spent her first year worrying more than studying.

Presently, her family(Fleur included, this time) was making their way to the last ticket aisle which led to the platform when they heard the decidedly British exclamation lamenting the mysterious whereabouts of platform 26. Gabrielle looked towards her sister for a moment and then turned towards the family of three standing with a trolley loaded with a trunk and a small bag. She took in a breath before making her way to the little dark haired girl standing beside the trolley looking uncertain.

"Hello," she said to the girl in thickly accented English "We were passing by and 'eard you speak of platform 26. Are you looking to board ze Beauxbatons Express?"

The girl visibly straightened up and looked at Gabrielle with wide eyes. She noticed the two men with her look towards her too.

"Yes. Could you please tell us where the entrance is? We've been looking for a long time but we really have no idea."

Gabrielle remembered in that moment a number of similar conversations that had taken place when her sister was in school, and how she used to help everyone who needed it. She knew exactly what to do in that moment. She smiled brightly at the younger girl and said

" _Bien sûr!_ Eet is through 'ere."

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Anthea had seen the pale, blonde, French girl before she had seen her, chatting with an older girl who could only have been her sister. She had been surprised when she had approached her and then that realized she had been louder that she'd thought in her exclamation. But she'd agreed to help them out, and she couldn't be grateful enough. They only had some fifteen minutes to board the train, after all.

The blonde girl walked with her up front while she could see her parents talk to hers and exchange smiles. She wondered if she should say something, but then decided against it, suddenly feeling shy. It was her companion who broke the silence between them, smiling at her yet again

"My name is Gabrielle Delacour. Zat is my seester Fleur and Maman and papa weeth your parents. I will be in ze First form zis year. What about you?" She elegantly shook back her silky hair and led her towards the ticket counters.

"Anthea Jones-Price. Those are my fathers with your parents there. I'll be starting first year too." Anthea looked at her sideways. They stopped before an empty ticket lane.

"Well, Anthea, we shall be going into zis lane and walking up to ze counter and leaning against eet, and eet will take us to Platform 26. Are you ready?"

Anthea simply nodded and looked behind her to find her fathers who simply smiled at her. She took a deep breath and followed Gabrielle to the ticket counter and stood just a little away from it. Gabrielle looked at her with a grin and grabbed her hand.

"Come on!"

They stepped onto platform 26 much the same way you'd step onto platform 9 ¾, by stepping through a barrier, which was, in this case, a ticket counter. Platform 26 was filled with students milling about in muggle clothes and school uniforms, greeting their friends and parents wishing their children goodbye. Anthea took in all of her surroundings with wide eyes and looked at Gabrielle watching her expectantly. Anthea smiled at her this time.

"It's wonderful!", she told her grinning. Gabrielle returned her grin.

Anthea turned around again to find her parents watching her with grins of their own on their faces. She went up to them and hugged them both round the middle. She knew the smile on all their faces was happy and genuine at that moment.

"Still want to go back home, sweetheart?" Adrian asked, ruffling her hair

Anthea only grinned again in reply.

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Gabrielle went towards her own family when Anthea went to bid her parents goodbye. Both Fleur and her mother were beaming at her.

"Oh, _ma chéri,_ you've grown so much. I am so proud of you for helping ze leetle girl!", her mother swooped down to kiss both her cheeks. Fleur too enveloped her in a hug quickly as did her father.

"I will write every week", Fleur promised. "Do well, Gabrielle. _Au revoir!_ "

The smiles on their faces were the brightest Gabrielle had ever seen.

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They had just loaded their bags and trunks into a compartment when the whistle for the train to leave blew and hasty goodbyes and promises to write were said. Anthea had told Gabrielle how little she knew of Beauxbatons, so she had taken it upon herself to tell her as much as she knew herself of the school.

"We get separate dormitories for five girls away from ze boys in a tower in the north weeng of ze palace, and zere ees a 'uge 'all for 'aving our meals in. Ze classes are 'eld een 'uge airy classrooms wheech 'ave ze most _magnifique_ view of ze gardens. You shall love ze school Anthea! I am so excite' to be starting eet again."

Her companion looked towards her with curiosity burning in her eyes.

"Do the students in Beauxbatons have houses?" she asked.

Gabrielle shook her head. "No, all ze students 'ave different classes assigned to zem for a term weeth different professors and classmates. It 'elps you to meet different people and befriend zem."

"How long will this ride last? We started pretty early. And how do we get to school?"

"Zey ask us to come on ze afternoon of August 31 so zat we become comfortable and start our classes on ze 1st. We will be reaching ze Pyreenes railway station een about two hours. From zere we take carriages to ze school. Zey are 'orse drawn. We are taught to take care of ze horses too, in ze school. And ze gardens are ze best you shall ever visit, _mon amie…_ "

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Anthea had fallen quiet after a while, when the initial rush of adrenaline and excitement had subsided , opting to only listen to Gabrielle speak of their school, and the nearby Wizarding village they could visit every two weeks, which had led her to wondering about Hogwarts. She never would be able to see what it was like to be a student at Hogwarts like the rest of her family. She would never know what house she could have been in or what the Gryffindor or the Hufflepuff common rooms were like or what it was like to sit at one of the house tables to eat. It somehow felt like betraying her family's memories, going to Beauxbatons.

It was not long before her quite state was noticed by her new friend, who was quick in asking her if she was alright. Anthea had told her she was completely fine just as quickly but she knew that Gabrielle was not entirely convinced by her decided to give in, finally.

"I was thinking of Hogwarts, you know", she told her with a frown. "I only came here because I couldn't start Hogwarts this year–It is demolished so and I wanted to start my schooling on time. But both my parents have been to Hogwarts, you see. It feels like a betrayal that I wouldn't be able to go to such a great school."

She was acutely aware of Gabrielle looking at her and trying to figure out what would make her feel better.

"Anthea", she exclaimed finally. "I Actually zink you will find zat Beauxbatons is ze greatest magical school in ze world! I will make sure you do not feel 'omesick throughout ze year. Zere is a lot to do 'ere, and we shall do eet all togezer. You shall not miss 'Ogwarts, believe een me."

"Look towards ze right, you can see ze castle too, Anthea. We are going to be home in this castle together for eight years."

The smile Gabrielle gave Anthea was infectious–she couldn't help but smile too, and the conviction in her voice made her believe all that she had said. It was a new beginning, so perhaps it was just as well that she was going to Beauxbatons instead.

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 **A/N: According to this piece, the students of Beauxbatons leave for school from the Gare d'Austerlitz (The Austerlitz station) in Paris. This is because the trains that run to the Pyreenes depart from this station.**

 **The Beauxbatons Express arrives on Platform 26, which is just behind Platform 25 but which the Muggles cannot see.**

 **The entryway into Platform 26 is by going into a particular ticket counter lane and leaning against it, much like the entryway at Kings Cross.**

 **The Beauxbatons students leave for school on 31st August so that they can settle in on the 31st and the classes begin on the 1st.**

 **The Beauxbatons students do not have houses.**

All of these are a figment of my imagination.

Hope you like this:) Review:)


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